Caribbean Republican AOC Challenger Drops Out Of Race

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. May 27, 2020: A Caribbean-born Republican candidate who was seeking to challenge Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in the upcoming elections.

Scherie Murray, a Jamaican immigrant and businesswoman, announced she was dropping out in a letter posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Murray suspended her campaign just days after she had filed a lawsuit against a contractor for allegedly making errors while tasked with getting signatures on her behalf.

Her campaign said she faced “hurdles” including “a corrupt political establishment working to silence her.”

“To add insult to injury, the vendor hired to collect qualifying signatures to secure ballot access for the Republican Party nomination in the June 2020 Primary, violated New York State election laws,” the campaign said in a statement.

The campaign said it is taking the case to court to ensure “no other candidate is likewise taken advantage of.” The federal lawsuit alleges, among other mistakes, that the vendor used a registered Democrat to be the “subscribing witness” for Murray’s petition, which violates state law that requires the subscribing witness be a Republican in order to get on the GOP primary ballot, the New York Daily News reported.

But she said this is not the end for her “because I will continue to work hard.”

Andrew Shannon, who is named in the suit, told the Daily News that Murray is striking back with the suit after he sued her a month earlier for breaching the contract.

“Whatever Scherie is doing is a smokescreen for her own shortcomings,” Shannon told the Daily News. “If she had a competent campaign, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Ocasio-Cortez will face the Republican challenger John Cummings, a retired New York Police Department officer as well as some Democratic primary challengers, including former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.

The race for New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens, is ranked solidly Democratic and has a large Hispanic population of voters.

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